Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
House newcomers face tricky balance
Local politics compete with frays over Trump
WASHINGTON — As the class of freshmen House lawmakers returned to their states for the Independence Day break, many were determined to push beyond President Donald Trump’s latest pronouncements from the White House — over the border crisis or the impeachment calls against him — to focus on local issues they say matter in their districts.
But the balance can be challenging, with wrenching national stories never far from view.
“The folks I’m talking to just want a Washington that is working together to move things forward,” Rep. Abby Finkenauer, D-Iowa, said by telephone in between stops in her sprawling district, where many farmers are hard-hit by Trump’s tariff war with China.
She is using her position as head of the House Small Business subcommittee on rural development, agriculture, trade and entrepreneurship to shore up federal money for programs to help her constituents. It’s a role she said she would play regardless of who is president.
“Having a trade war over Twitter doesn’t work when people are struggling,” Finkenauer said.
As Rep. Antonio Delgado, D-N.Y., was visiting veterans’ health care facilities and family farms, protesters outraged over the border crisis gathered at his district office.
“I applaud the impassioned civic engagement, including those exercising their right to protest outside our Kingston office, in response to what’s happening to migrant families within our own borders,” Delgado tweeted.
Rep. Anthony Brindisi, D-N.Y., said in an interview that he was driving to as many counties in upstate New York as possible to meet constituents.
In his district, constituents worry about rising prescription drug costs, the opioid crisis and damage from the flooding Lake Ontario, but they aren’t as vocal about issues major national issues such as immigration or impeachment, he said.
“My constituents are concerned about people working together in Washington,” Brindisi said.